Biddle, Francis, 1886-1968

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Francis Beverley Biddle (1886-1968) was a graduate of Groton and Harvard. After Harvard Law School he served for one year as secretary to Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. A practicing attorney in Philadelphia for twenty-five years, Biddle was named the first chairman of the National Labor Relations Board in 1934, filling the post for one year. In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed him judge of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1940, he was appointed Solicitor General of the United States, and in September 1941, Attorney General of the United States. After leaving that post in May 1945, he was appointed the U.S. member of the International Military Tribunal that tried the Nazi war criminals at Nuremburg. From 1947 until his death in 1968, he was a speaker and writer, and was active in the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial Commission and the Americans for Democratic Action, the latter of which he headed as national chairman from 1950 to 1953.

From the description of Biddle, Francis B. (Francis Beverley), 1886-1968 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 10580791

Francis Beverley Biddle was born in Paris, France, on May 9, 1886. He attended Groton School and Harvard University, where he graduated A.B. in 1909 and LL. B. in 1911. The following year he became private secretary to Oliver Wendell Holmes, was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar and entered practice in Philadelphia with the firm of Biddle, Paul & Jayne. In 1915 Biddle moved to the firm of Barnes, Biddle & Myers, where he remained until 1939. In 1935, Biddle was appointed chairman of the National Labor Relations Board by Franklin D. Roosevelt, a position he held until the National Recovery Act was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court later that year. From 1938 to 1939 he acted as chief counsel for the joint congressional committee that conducted an investigation of the Tennessee Valley Authority. In 1939 he was appointed judge of the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He left the bench the following year when Roosevelt appointed him solicitor general. Biddle became attorney general in 1941, serving until after Roosevelt's death in 1945. As attorney general he was chief prosecutor of eight German spies and saboteurs apprehended on the coasts of Florida and Long Island during the early part of the Second World War. He also administered the U.S. wartime internment of aliens, although he found the policy a violation of civil liberties. On Oct. 12, 1942, he was able to remove Italian-Americans from the status of enemy aliens. After the war, Biddle was appointed American member-judge of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. In 1947 Biddle was invited by Harry Truman to be considered for nomination to the position of secretary general to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. However, due to dissension among the other delegates regarding nominations, his name was not formally presented. Some weeks later, Truman nominated him as American representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. When the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate hesitated to approve the nomination, Biddle removed his name from consideration. In addition to his work with the federal government, Biddle served in official posts in many private organizations. He was national chairman of Americans for Democratic Action (1950-53); a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague (1951-61); chairman of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Committee (1956-66); vice-chairman of the board of trustees of the Twentieth Century Fund (1951-67); and chairman of the National Committee of the American Civil Liberties Union (c.1964-68). Francis Biddle married the poet Katherine Garrison Chapin in 1918. He died in Hyannis, Mass., on Oct. 4, 1968.

From the description of Francis B. Biddle papers, 1912-1968 (bulk 1940-1966). (Georgetown University). WorldCat record id: 79869834

Husband of the poet Katherine Garrison Chapin.

From the description of Correspondence to Maxwell Struthers Burt, 1943. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 122542282

Francis Biddle, U.S. Attorney General during the Second World War, was one of the two American judges at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trial.

From the description of Notes taken at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, 1 February-30 March, 1946. (Harvard Law School Library). WorldCat record id: 78956704

Attorney.

Biddle served in Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration with the National Labor Relations Board, 1934-1939, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, 1939-1941, and as Attorney General, 1941-1945.

From the description of Papers, 1912-1967. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 155521741

Francis Biddle, lawyer, Attorney General of the United States under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and member of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, was born in Paris, France, on May 9, 1886, the son of Algernon Sydney and Frances (Robinson) Biddle, and was brought to America in infancy. He attended Haverford School from 1895 to 1899 and Groton School from 1899 to 1905. From Harvard College he received his B.A. cum laude in 1909.

After receiving his LL.B. cum laude from the Harvard Law School in 1911, Mr. Biddle served as private secretary to Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes from 1911 to 1912. He practiced law in Philadelphia, first with Biddle, Paul and Jayne, 1912-1915, and then with Barnes, Biddle and Myers, 1917-1939. Mr. Biddle was appointed special assistant to the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1922-1926, first chairman of the National Labor Relations Board, 1934, and chief counsel of the joint Congressional committee to investigate the Tennessee Valley Authority, 1938-1939. He was judge for the United States Circuit Court of Appeals, 3d Circuit, 1939-1940, Solicitor General of the United States, 1940-1941, and Attorney General from September 1941 to June 1945. He was appointed United States member of the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, to which service most of the papers in this collection refer. Mr. Biddle was also a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

Among his writings are The Llanfear Pattern, a novel, 1927; Mr. Justice Holmes, 1942; Democratic Thinking and the War, 1944; The World's Best Hope, 1949; The Fear of Freedom, 1951; Justice Holmes, Natural Law and the Supreme Court, 1961; the memoirs A Casual Past, 1961, and In Brief Authority, 1962; and contributions to a number of legal publications. Mr. Biddle died at his home on Cape Cod on October 4, 1968.

From the guide to the Francis Biddle Collection of International Military Tribunal Nuremberg Trial Documents and Related Material, 1928-1960, 1945-1946, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Robert E. Sherwood papers, 1917-1968 (inclusive), 1934-1955 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Learned Hand papers Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Edward Sheldon correspondence, 1899-1959. Harvard Theater Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University
referencedIn Harvard University Archives Photograph Collection: Portraits, ca. 1852-ca. 2004 Harvard University Archives.
referencedIn Magruder, Calvert, 1893-1968. Papers. 1920-1965 Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Hart, Henry Melvin, 1904-1969. Papers, 1927-1969 Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Simkhovitch, Mary K. (Mary Kingsbury), 1867-1951. Papers, 1852-1960 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Chapin, Katherine Garrison, 1890-1977. Katherine Biddle papers, 1907-1977 (bulk 1935-1969). Georgetown University, Joseph Mark Lauinger Memorial Library
referencedIn Leach, Walter Barton. W. Barton Leach Papers. 1920-1971. Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
creatorOf Biddle, Francis, 1886-1968. Correspondence to Maxwell Struthers Burt, 1943. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Ehrmann, Henry Walter, 1908-. Henry W. Ehrmann papers, 1932-1998. University at Albany, University Libraries
referencedIn R. Sturgis Ingersoll papers relating to Henry McCarter Archives of American Art
referencedIn Herbert Wechsler papers, 1919-2000, [Bulk Dates: 1932-1995] Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn Bedell family. Biddle family letters, 1777-1973 (bulk 1860-1960). Georgetown University, Joseph Mark Lauinger Memorial Library
referencedIn Weeks, David, 1786-1834. David Weeks and family papers, 1782-1957 (bulk 1830-1957). Louisiana State University, LSU Libraries
referencedIn Jerome New Frank papers, 1918-1972 (bulk 1929-1957) Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
creatorOf Biddle, Francis, 1886-1968. Letter to Will Orton Tewson, 1926 March 3. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Thomas, Arthur Abbot. Letter to Francis Biddle, 23 March 1909. Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
creatorOf Woolsey, John Munro, 1877-1945. Judicial opinions, 1929-1943. Yale University, Law School Library
creatorOf Morris, Ann Cary Randolph. Papers, 1805-1815. William & Mary Libraries
referencedIn Eldridge mss., 1941-1978 Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington)
creatorOf Dickerman, Judson C., 1873-1967. Papers of Judson C. Dickerman [manuscript], 1924-1945. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Chester Bowles papers, 1924-1982 Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
creatorOf Paul Blanshard Papers, 1912-1979 Bentley Historical Library
creatorOf Biddle, Francis, 1886-1968. Correspondence to Paul Philippe Cret, 1929-1945. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn General Records of the Department of Justice. 1790 - 2002. Photographs of Agency Officials and Activities National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Irving Brant papers, 1910-1977 Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Unknown. The Normandie Fire, 1941-1942. Peabody Essex Museum
creatorOf University of Virginia. News Information Services. Speech file of the News Information Services of the University of Virginia [manuscript], 1929-1967. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Walling, William English, 1877-1936. Papers [microform], 1871-1962. Ohio History Connection, Ohio Historical Society
creatorOf Day, Vince A. (Vincent Alpheus), 1885-1945. Vince A. Day papers, 1906-1945. Minnesota Historical Society Library
referencedIn Papers of Robert Graves: Correspondence (arranged by correspondent), c1909 to 2004 St John's College, Oxford
referencedIn Archibald MacLeish Papers, 1907-1981, (bulk 1925-1970) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
creatorOf Brooks, Lawrence Graham, 1881-1981. Papers, 1897-1981. Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Sheldon Glueck papers Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Milton, George Fort, 1894-1955. Papers of George Fort Milton, 1828-1946 (bulk 1915-1946). Library of Congress
referencedIn George Biddle Papers, 1863-1973, (bulk 1916-1973) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Lawrence Graham Brooks papers, 1897-1981 Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Max Lerner papers, 1927-1998 Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
referencedIn Lerner, Max, 1902-2001. Max Lerner papers, 1927-1992 (inclusive). Yale University Library
referencedIn J. B. Matthews Papers, 1862-1986 and undated David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library
referencedIn Roscoe Pound Papers Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn James P. McGranery and Regina Clark McGranery, 1909-1975, (bulk 1943-1975) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Americans for Democratic Action. Americans for Democratic Action records, 1932-1999. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
creatorOf Francis Biddle Collection of International Military Tribunal Nuremberg Trial Documents and Related Material, 1928-1960, 1945-1946 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
referencedIn Earl Browder Papers, 1879-1990 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
referencedIn Chester Bowles papers, 1924-1982 Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
referencedIn New York Times Company records. Arthur Hays Sulzberger papers, 1823-1999 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Manning, Michael J. Michael J. Manning papers, 1934-1942. Wayne State University. Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs
creatorOf Howe, Mark De Wolfe, 1906-1967. Papers, 1933-1967. Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Powell, Thomas Reed, 1880-1955. Papers, 1905-1955 Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Honeyman, Nan Wood, 1881-1970. Nan Wood Honeyman papers, 1935-1962. Oregon Historical Society Research Library
creatorOf Walling, William English, 1877-1936. William Walling papers [microform], 1871-1962. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
creatorOf Biddle, Francis, 1886-1968. Notes taken at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, 1 February-30 March, 1946. Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Papers, 1941-1944. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn Rebecca West papers, 1894-1975 Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn John Mason Brown papers, 1922-1967. Houghton Library
referencedIn Walling, William English, 1877-1936. Papers, 1863-1962. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Chapin, Cornelia Van Auken, 1893-. Papers, 1877-1959 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn James H. Rowe, Jr. Papers, 1924 - 1984 Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
referencedIn Papers, 1877-1959 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Cooper mss. II, ca. 1905-1985 Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington)
referencedIn Hudson, Manley Ottmer, 1886-1960. Papers, 1894-1960 Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
creatorOf Wister, Owen, 1860-1938. Materials relating to Owen Wister's books [manuscript], ca.1896-1950. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Smithsonian Institution. Office of the Secretary. Correspondence, 1863-1879 Smithsonian Institution Archives
referencedIn Thomas G. Corcoran Papers, 1792-1982, (bulk 1965-1980) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn General Records of the Department of Justice. 1790 - 2002. Photographs of Attorneys General National Archives at College Park
creatorOf Kemp, Edward Gearing, 1887-1962. Edward G. Kemp papers, 1920-1962 and undated. Bentley Historical Library
referencedIn Alexander Woollcott correspondence, ca. 1856-1943 (inclusive), 1920-1943 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Witter Bynner papers, 1829-1965. Houghton Library
referencedIn Hart, Henry Melvin. Henry Melvin Hart Papers. 1927-1969. Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Irving Brant papers, 1910-1977 Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn The Nation, records, 1879-1974 (inclusive), 1920-1955 (bulk). Houghton Library
creatorOf Biddle, Francis, 1886-1968. Correspondence to Van Wyck Brooks, 1941-1962. University of Pennsylvania Library
creatorOf Papers, 1912-1967. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn Magruder, Calvert, 1893-1968. Papers of Calvert Magruder, 1920-1965 (inclusive). Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
creatorOf Biddle, Francis, 1886-1968. Francis B. Biddle papers, 1912-1968 (bulk 1940-1966). Georgetown University, Joseph Mark Lauinger Memorial Library
referencedIn Simkhovitch, Mary K. (Mary Kingsbury), 1867-1951. Papers, 1852-1960 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Oswald Garrison Villard papers Houghton Library
referencedIn Papers, 1900-1958. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn Scrapbook, 1942. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn United States. National Labor Relations Board. Topic 3 : Interviews re the "old" NLRB (pre-Wagner Act), 1968-1975. Cornell University Library
referencedIn National Refugee Service, records, undated, 1935-1947, 1953 American Jewish Historical Society
creatorOf Eastman, Eliena, 1895-1956. Papers, 1923-1958. Indiana University
referencedIn Paul Blanshard Papers, 1912-1979 Bentley Historical Library
referencedIn Howe, Mark De Wolfe. Mark De Wolfe Howe papers. 1933-1967. Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Paul A. Freund papers Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
creatorOf Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Commission. Letters, 1957-1958, n.d., to Lewis Mumford. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Correspondence, 1939-1965. Andover-Harvard Theological Library
referencedIn Burlingham, Charles Culp, 1858-1959. Papers, 1876-1960 Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
creatorOf Foreign Policy Association. Correspondence with Theodore Dreiser, 1929. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith American Civil Liberties Union. corporateBody
associatedWith Americans for Democratic Action. corporateBody
correspondedWith Bedell family. family
correspondedWith Biddle, George, 1885-1973 person
correspondedWith Biggs, John, 1895-1979 person
associatedWith Birkett, Norman Birkett, Baron, 1883-1962 person
associatedWith Blanshard, Paul, 1892-1980. person
associatedWith Bowles, Chester, 1901-1986. person
correspondedWith Brant, Irving, 1885-1976. person
associatedWith Brooks, Lawrence Graham, 1881-1981. person
associatedWith Browder, Earl, 1891-1973 person
correspondedWith Brown, John Mason, 1900-1969 person
associatedWith Bullitt, William C. (William Christian), 1891-1967. person
associatedWith Burlingham, Charles Culp, 1858-1959 person
correspondedWith Bynner, Witter, 1881-1968 person
associatedWith Carmody, John Michael, 1881-1963. person
associatedWith Carusi, Ugo. person
associatedWith Chapin, Cornelia Van Auken, 1893- person
correspondedWith Chapin, Katherine Garrison, 1890-1977. person
associatedWith Cooper, Kent, 1880-1965 person
correspondedWith Corcoran, Thomas G. person
associatedWith Cornelia Van Auken Chapin, 1893- person
associatedWith Day, Vince A. (Vincent Alpheus), 1885-1945. person
associatedWith Dickerman, Judson C., 1873-1967. person
associatedWith Donnedieu de Vabres, H. (Henri), 1880-1952 person
associatedWith Eastman, Eliena, 1895-1956. person
associatedWith Ehrmann, Henry Walter, 1908- person
associatedWith Eldridge, James Anthony, 1920-1978 person
associatedWith Foreign Policy Association. corporateBody
correspondedWith Frankfurter, Felix, 1882-1965 person
associatedWith Frank, Jerome, 1889-1957. person
associatedWith Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Commission. corporateBody
associatedWith Glueck, Sheldon, 1896- person
associatedWith Göring, Hermann, 1893-1946. person
associatedWith Graves, Robert Windham, 1858-1934 person
correspondedWith Hand, Learned, 1872-1961 person
associatedWith Hart, Henry Melvin. person
associatedWith Hart, Henry Melvin. person
correspondedWith Henry, Joseph, 1797-1878 person
correspondedWith Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 1841-1935 person
correspondedWith Honeyman, Nan Wood, 1881-1970. person
associatedWith Howe, Mark De Wolfe, 1906-1967. person
associatedWith Hudson, Manley Ottmer, 1886- person
correspondedWith Ingersoll, R. Sturgis (Robert Sturgis), b. 1891 person
associatedWith International Military Tribunal. corporateBody
associatedWith Kemp, Edward Gearing, 1887-1962. person
associatedWith Leach, W. Barton (Walter Barton), 1900- person
associatedWith Lerner, Max, 1902- person
associatedWith Lerner, Max, 1902-2001. person
correspondedWith MacLeish, Archibald, 1892-1982. person
associatedWith Magruder, Calvert, 1893-1968. person
correspondedWith Manning, Michael J. person
associatedWith Mary Melinda (Kingsbury) Simkhovitch, 1867-1951 person
associatedWith Matthews, J. B. (Joseph Brown), 1894-1966 person
correspondedWith McCarter, Henry, 1864-1942 person
correspondedWith McGranery, James P. (James Patrick), 1895-1962. person
correspondedWith McGranery, Regina Clark, 1907-1975 person
associatedWith Milton, George Fort, 1894-1955. person
associatedWith Morris, Ann Cary Randolph. person
associatedWith National Refugee Service corporateBody
correspondedWith Nation (New York, N.Y. : 1865). corporateBody
associatedWith New York Times Company corporateBody
associatedWith Paul A. Freund person
associatedWith Pella, Vespasien V., 1897-1952 person
associatedWith Pound, Roscoe, 1870-1964 person
associatedWith Powell, Thomas Reed, 1880-1955. person
associatedWith Ribbentrop, Joachim von, 1893-1946. person
associatedWith Richards, Augustus L. person
correspondedWith Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945 person
associatedWith Rowe, James H., 1909-1984. person
associatedWith Schacht, Hjalmar Horace Greeley, 1877-1970 person
correspondedWith Sheldon, Edward, 1886-1946 person
correspondedWith Sherwood, Robert E. (Robert Emmet), 1896-1955 person
associatedWith Simkhovitch, Mary K. (Mary Kingsbury), 1867-1951. person
associatedWith Taylor, Telford. person
associatedWith Tennessee Valley Authority. corporateBody
associatedWith Tewson, William Orton, 1877-1947, person
associatedWith Thomas, Arthur Abbot. person
correspondedWith Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972 person
correspondedWith Unitarian Service Committee. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Attorney-General. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Court of Appeals (3rd Circuit) corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Dept. of Justice. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. National Labor Relations Board. corporateBody
associatedWith University of Virginia. News Information Services. corporateBody
associatedWith Unknown. family
correspondedWith Villard, Oswald Garrison, 1872-1949 person
associatedWith Walling, William English, 1877-1936. person
correspondedWith Wechsler, Herbert, 1909-2000 person
associatedWith Weeks, David, 1786-1834. person
associatedWith West, Rebecca, 1892-1983. person
associatedWith Wister, Owen, 1860-1938. person
correspondedWith Woollcott, Alexander, 1887-1943 person
associatedWith Woolsey, John Munro, 1877-1945. person
associatedWith Wright, Quincy, 1890-1970 person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Germany
United States
Subject
Antitrust law
Censorship
Civil rights
Corporations, Government
Courts
Elections
Historians
Military history
Industrial relations
Katyn Massacre, Katynʹ, Russia, 1940
Natural history
New Deal, 1933-1939
Nuremberg Trial of Major German War Criminals, Nuremberg, Germany, 1945-1946
Nuremberg Trial of Major German War Criminals, Nuremberg, Germany, 1945-1946
Petroleum industry and trade
Politics, government and public administration
Prisons
Reconstruction (1939-1951)
Sabotage
War crime trials
War crime trials
War criminals
Water resources development
World War, 1939-1945
Occupation
Attorneys general
Lawyers
Activity

Person

Birth 1886-05-09

Death 1968-10-04

Americans

French,

English

Information

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Ark ID: w6q52wk6

SNAC ID: 19875131